India v England

At Kanpur, January 28. India won by eight wickets. Toss: England.

India's new opening pair exploded again, this time with 134 runs at almost eight an over. Though Ganguly returned, he dropped down to No. 3 after another hamstring twinge, leaving Sehwag and Tendulkar to compare strokes. At first, Sehwag farmed the strike audaciously, outscoring his idol by 82 to 47 before scooping a catch to mid-on. But Tendulkar, who became the first player to score 11,000 one-day international runs, stepped up a gear and sealed India's win with a straight six off Snape. Afterwards, Hussain admitted England had "taken a battering, basically". But he also maintained, with some justification, that the umpires had reprieved both openers on nought, Tendulkar after a leg-side nibble at the first ball (signalled wide). England wasted a vibrant start again. Knight reverse-swept niftily in his 74, ending a patch of indifferent form, but his demise, held at point off another backhanded swipe, sparked a collapse of four for 22. Thorpe was forced into damage-limitation mode. Fog and overnight rain reduced the game to 39 overs a side, and Foster's sickness compelled Trescothick to keep wicket.

Man of the Match: V. Sehwag.